When I Grow Up by Lisa, age 8

Now I am a girl and I want to be free. I am the youngest and my sisters boss me around. When I grow up I will be a woman. When I am a woman I will be free because I will do whatever I want. I will have my own bed with golden pillows. After that I will be a grandma. When I am a grandma, I will walk slowly and I will have to work in a factory making clothes and I will be tired. I will have one vase of flowers for decoration and two cups, one for me, and one in case I have a guest.

Why? by Lisa, age 8

Go flush the toilet. Don’t pick your nose or it will get worse. Don’t touch that or something will happen to you. Don’t jump down the cliff. Why? Because you’ll die. Don’t touch that. Why? Because you might get hurt. Don’t play around while you’re in the streets. Why? Because there might be an accident. No there won’t. Don’t play with bees. Why? Because they will sting you. I don’t trust you. Don’t touch that needle or you’ll get AIDS. This is how you have good manners at a restaurant. 1. Don’t pick your nose. 2. Don’t eat with your hands. 3. Don’t play with food. 4. Don’t run.

My Mom By Don, Age 10

My mom’s name is Thuy Le. She was born in Vietnam on January 3, 1970. She lived in Saigon, Danang, Hue and Hanoi. During the war, she went underground with her family. Her father dug a hole for them to hide in. He dug it with his bare hands. It was dark and there were slimy worms and bugs there, and poisonous spiders that don't make webs. Her family was scared and nervous.

When my mom was a kid, she used a bicycle for transportation when. She played a lot of different games like jump rope and dominoes. She has five siblings. Her favorite food was noodle soup, rice and veggies. She went to school.

She came to San Francisco on June 9, 1996. She got married and her husband really wanted to move here. San Francisco felt like a second home to her and she wanted to go back to Vietnam. She missed all her friends and family and restaurants with pho. Her favorite part of her first day here was watching cars go over the Golden gate bridge. The bridge was the thing that surprised her most about San Francisco too because it is so big and the word golden was interesting to her.

My mom likes to cook food for me. Cooking is her hobby because it tastes so good and it makes her family happy!

My mom is a manicurist. She likes getting paid from her boss, but the bad thing about her job is when clients cancel appointments. She was nervous on her first day of work. The day felt so long and she couldn't wait to get home.

If she could have any superpower, she would choose super flexibility. Why? Because she would be able to help people fast.

About the Author

My name is Don. I’m ten years old. This is my fourth published story. I am also the author of The Iceman, The Boy Who Brought Back Winter, Bus Stop Fight and many poems. The hardest thing about this project was asking my mom questions and writing her answers down in my journal. All the translating was hard. The most interesting thing I learned is how my mom’s dad dug a hole with his bare hands for his family to hide in. I also learned my mom wanted to have fun in her new country but she also misses her family in her old country. My mom taught me that crying will not make me brave or make me get any friends.

The Future by Angela, age 9

Now I am a girl but when I grow up I will be single and I will be a woman. I will have eight balloons because I will have a party and I will invite eight people. I will have eight slices of pizza, eight Wiis and eight videogames because people will be to impatient to wait their turn, eight small rocks for slingshooting, eight plates, eight bowls, eight spoons, eight forks, eight pairs of chopsticks, eight cups and eight laptops so everyone can go to Barbie.com and look at Barbie jumping up and down and watch her say, “Hey, my friend Teresa and I are making a new movie!” When I grow older I will be a grandma even though I will never have kids. I will have glasses and I will have white hair and I will be lazy.